U.S. v. Collins, 84-5194

• Decision Date: 25 June 1985
• Docket Number: No. 84-5194,84-5194
• Parties: 18 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 283 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Maria Lucia COLLINS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 647

764 F.2d 647

18 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 283

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Maria Lucia COLLINS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 84-5194.

United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted April 1, 1985.

Decided June 25, 1985.

David Wiechert, Asst. U.S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee.

W. Michael Mayock, Law Offices of W. Michael Mayock, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendant-appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Before BROWNING, BARNES, Circuit Judges, and PRICE, District Judge. ^*

BARNES, Circuit Judge:

Maria Lucia Collins appeals from her conviction of one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1). We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On January 12, 1984, Customs inspectors were routinely examining airway bills of lading for packages which had arrived on a Varig Airlines flight from Brazil to Los Angeles. One of the airway bills, concerning an alleged shipment of "hearts of palm" addressed to appellant Collins, caught the attention of one of the inspectors because the shipment came from a narcotics source country and had no declared commercial value.

The inspectors placed a hold on the shipment, and on January 13, 1984, upon being informed by Varig Airlines that the shipment had been located, the inspectors examined the boxes and opened one of the cans therein which was labelled "hearts of palm." The inspectors discovered a white powder in the can which later tested positive for cocaine. The same day, appellant Collins, accompanied by one Robert Reynolds, presented an invoice to one of the inspectors to claim the packages.

Prior to claiming the packages, Collins had telephoned Varig Airlines and had been informed that Customs had placed a "special team hold" on her shipment. She thereafter contacted Customs to inquire about the hold, and upon arriving at the airport to claim the packages, Collins was required to wait one hour until the Customs search was completed. After the search was completed, a Varig Airline agent took the "hearts of palm" package to Collins' car, and as she began to drive away, with Reynolds in the passenger seat, she and Reynolds were arrested by Customs officers. Later that same day, the cocaine contained in several of the "hearts of palm" cans was transferred by Customs officials to the custody of the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"). ¹

After the arrest, the Customs officers searched Collins' vehicle and discovered a key and a rental agreement for a safe deposit box which Collins had rented on January 12, 1984, ² and Collins' checkbook. Collins was then transported by Customs officers to the airport DEA office to be informed of the charges against her. While she was being transported to the DEA office, Collins made certain spontaneous statements that "[Reynolds] doesn't know what's going on." ³ At the DEA office Collins waived her Miranda rights and spoke freely with DEA special agents. Collins discussed her alleged purpose in renting the security box to store files; that Reynolds accompanied her to the airport to help her carry the "hearts of palm" boxes; and she indicated that she was in the fish importing business. However, the special agent testified that Collins did not mention that she intended to use the safe deposit box to store jewelry or a video recorder in addition to files (to which Collins testified at trial).

Collins filed a pretrial motion to suppress the cocaine alleging that the Customs officers did not retain custody of the cocaine and secure it for trial, but rather transferred custody to the DEA, in violation of 19 U.S.C. Sec. 482 (1982). On May 21, 1984, after argument, the district court denied Collins' motion.

In addition, Collins filed a motion to exclude the spontaneous statements which she made to Customs inspectors. She based this motion on the fact that the Government waited until the day prior to trial to file a supplemental trial memorandum setting forth the spontaneous statements. Collins asserted that since the statements were made in the presence of Reynolds, she was prejudiced by not being able to call him as a witness. The court continued the trial one day to allow Collins to locate Reynolds. Further, although the court did not grant Collins' motion to exclude her statements, it did preclude use of the statements from the Government's case-in-chief.

Lastly, Collins objected to the Government's use of her checkbook and bank records. The Government represented that these exhibits would not be introduced in its case-in-chief. Collins renewed her objection and requested that the court prohibit references to her financial records as an attempt to prove past similar crimes as improper under Federal Rules of Evidence 404(b). The court denied Collins' request.

At the close of Collins' case, the Government called rebuttal witnesses, including Customs officers who testified regarding the spontaneous statements made by Collins. After its rebuttal witnesses, the Government moved into evidence Collins' checkbook and bank records without defense objection.

After the jury returned a verdict of guilty, Collins filed a motion for judgment of acquittal and new trial. She raised the issues of the sufficiency of the evidence, admissibility of her checkbook and bank records, and the admissibility of her spontaneous statements. The motions were severally denied by the court on the day of sentencing, and she filed a timely appeal.

II. ISSUES

Collins presents four issues for our review:

(1) Whether the evidence adduced at trial was sufficient to support the judgment;

(2) Whether Collins was denied due process by the introduction at trial of her voluntary statements to Customs agents;

(3) Whether the district court erred in admitting Collins' bank records and checkbook; and

(4) Whether the evidence seized but not secured by United States Customs officials should have been suppressed pursuant to 19 U.S.C. Sec. 482.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review the sufficiency of the evidence to determine whether viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, a rational trier of fact could conclude that the evidence was adequate and sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2788-89, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); United States v. Gonzalez-Mares, 752 F.2d 1485, 1493 (9th Cir.1985).

Issues two and three above, attack the evidentiary rulings of the district court. "The district court's evidentiary rulings will be upheld on appeal unless the court abused its discretion, United States v. Merrill, 746 F.2d 458, 465 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 926, 83 L.Ed.2d 938 (1985), or committed 'manifest error.' United States v. Marabelles, 724 F.2d 1374, 1381 (9th Cir.1984)." United States v. Solomon, 753 F.2d 1522, 1524 (9th Cir.1985).

The fourth issue which Collins presents, challenges the validity of the transfer of the evidence by Customs officials to the DEA, pursuant to the provisions of the Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973, Section 1, 3A C.F.R. 263, 264 (1973), reprinted in 87 Stat. 1091 (1973), amended by Act of Mar. 16, 1974, Pub.L. No. 93-253, Sec. 1, 88 Stat. 50 (1974); ⁴ see also President's Message to Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan, 1973 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 3554. Collins alleges that the Reorganization Plan, enacted by the Executive Branch, violates the statutory provisions of 19 U.S.C. Sec. 482 ⁵, which requires Customs Agents to seize and secure any evidence for trial. Whether the Presidential Reorganization Plan conflicts with the statutory language of 19 U.S.C. Sec. 482, presents a question of law which we review de novo. See United States v. McConney, 728 F.2d 1195, 1201 (9th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 101, 83 L.Ed.2d 46 (1984).

IV. DISCUSSION

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

When viewing the evidence of this case in the light most favorable to the Government, a rational trier of fact could conclude that the evidence was adequate and sufficient to prove Collins' guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. at 318-319, 99 S.Ct. at 2788-2789. We find that the evidence clearly supports Collins' conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Collins argues that her testimony at trial supported a finding of her lack of knowledge of the cocaine, and that she should have been acquitted. Collins testified that she had no knowledge that the shipment of purported hearts of palm contained cocaine, and she argues that her acts were inconsistent with those of a person who was a drug dealer (i.e. the fact that she remained at the airport rather than fleeing when she knew that a special Customs team had placed a hold on her shipment, and that she had spoken freely with DEA agents regarding a prior hearts of palm shipment and of her boyfriend in Brazil). However, the Government produced sufficient testimonial and documentary evidence to impeach Collins' testimony and to support her conviction. In addition, "[i]t is not for [this Court] to weigh the evidence or to determine the credibility of witnesses. The verdict of a jury must be sustained if there is substantial evidence, taking the view most favorable to the Government, to support it." Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942) (citing United States v. Manton, 107 F.2d 834, 839 (2d Cir.1939) ).

Nor do we find persuasive, Collins' argument that the facts set out in her testimony would support her acquittal based on her lack of knowledge of the actual contents of the shipment which she received. Mere possession of a substantial quantity of narcotics is sufficient evidence to support a finding that a defendant knowingly possessed the narcotics. See e.g. United States v. Guzman, 446 F.2d 1137, 1139 (9th Cir.1971) (evidence of contraband serves...